For a rookie, Gyorko uncommonly cool

San Diego Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko throws to first to get the out on Milwaukee Brewers' Jean Segura in the first inning of a baseball game in San Diego, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
— AP

San Diego Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko throws to first to get the out on Milwaukee Brewers' Jean Segura in the first inning of a baseball game in San Diego, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
/ AP

Sitting at his locker before a recent home game, Jedd Gyorko had just begun to detail the differences between San Diego and Morgantown, W. Va., when he was interrupted by a voice thick with sarcasm and a New York accent.

The rookie second baseman and the veteran pitcher then launched into an easy exchange about the merits of certain ballparks in West Virginia, Marquis recalling a high-school tournament he played in, Gyorko smirking as he jogged his teammate’s memory.

Such is the life of an unflappable 24-year-old.

In less than a month on the job, Gyorko has weathered a positional yo-yo act, a historically awful team-wide start and his own tribulations facing some of the best pitchers in the game. Fans and players alike have yet to detect a crack in the cool exterior of the touted Morgantown native.

“He’s gone through some struggles, which is very common with young guys coming up to the big leagues,” third baseman Chase Headley said. “You can tell a lot about a person by the way they handle that. I’ve been really impressed with the way he comes to the field every day, just ready to go, getting his work in.”

Headley, the franchise’s premier player and ambassador, also became its most invested observer early this season, sidelined as he was by a fractured tip of the thumb. For more than a month, he watched Gyorko shuttle between second and third as the Padres, driven by necessity, spared their first-year player any pampering.

“I think in the short term and in the long term it’s gonna pay off for him,” Headley said.

Jedd Gyorko

2010: Left West Virginia as the school's all-time leader in batting average (.402), doubles (73) and home runs (tied for first with 52)

2011: Hit .333 with 25 home runs and 114 RBIs in 140 games between Single-A Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio

2012: Hit .311 with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in 126 games between San Antonio and Triple-A Tucson

Only the seventh rookie to debut with the Padres on Opening Day since 1995, Gyorko grew up with brothers five and seven years his senior, their extracurricular activities revolving around a basketball hoop in their parents’ backyard. Given the age difference, games of H-O-R-S-E were seldom fair but often contested.

“I’m probably the most competitive person I know,” Gyorko said, “so it always meant something more to me. I’m one of those guys that when you get knocked down you always get back up.”

In high school he channeled that drive into becoming an all-state athlete in baseball and basketball. The 5-foot-10 guard could dunk on a 10-foot rim, but only with “a tennis ball or a volleyball.”

“I couldn’t ever palm the ball,” Gyorko explained.

Which, of course, ranks low on his list of concerns these days. For one, there is the San Diego climate to worry about.